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PMP: PMBOK Errata - Errors in the PMBOK Guide and their corrections
PMConnection Articles Believe it or not, but there are errors in the PMBOK Guide 3rd Edition. That is why the PMI has made available 2 PDF documents with errata information.  They used to have these on their website, but ever since the new website came online, these files are no longer available. I have received them from the PMI and because the PMI isn't acting fast enough, I am making them available through my website http://www.pmprepcast.com - here they are:

http://www.pmprepcast.com/documents/errata_chp_7_EVM_changes_BW.pdf
http://www.pmprepcast.com/documents/Errata_Sheet_v2.pdf

Please check the version of your PMBOK Guide, before you use these errata sheets. Here is what the PMI writes:

 *Quote:*  Since the PMBOK(R) Guide—Third Edition was published in October 2004, there have been two errata sheets. The first pertained to the first printing of the book (or CD-ROM). The second errata sheet pertains to all printings up to the current (fifth) printing.

In order to determine the print run of your book, refer to the bottom of the copyright page (which precedes the Notice page and Table of Contents). You will see a descending numerical string of numbers beginning with 10. The first printing of the PMBOK(R) Guide—Third Edition will show the numerals 10 through 1. With each subsequent print run, the lowest numeral is removed from the string. Therefore, if your copy of the PMBOK(R) Guide—Third Edition has all 10 numerals, you have the first printing and you will need both errata sheets.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 (needs first errata sheet and second errata sheet)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 (needs second errata sheet)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 (needs second errata sheet)

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 (needs second errata sheet)

10 9 8 7 6 5 (needs second errata sheet)


And please check out our PMP Podcast at http://www.pmprepcast.com - It's definitely the easiest way to prepare for the PMP Exam: Just put on your headphones, listen and learn.
_________________
Cornelius Fichtner, PMP
Host of The Project Management PrepCast™
http://www.pmprepcast.com
The First True PMP(R) Podcast.
Get 35 Contact Hours for just $39.99


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Posted by webadmin on Tuesday, December 04 @ 07:39:26 CST (2789 reads)
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PMP: 10 Free PMP Exam Prep Questions
PMConnection Articles
For best experience, use the Printer Friendly option to the right, print this out and circle the best answer.  Answers are located at the bottom, but not cheating!!


1. You are working on a project at a client’s site.  While working on your project, you stumble into a possible flaw in the design of a project that was completed six months ago.  This project was also managed by a representative of your organization.  No one else is aware of this possible flaw and you do not believe any problem will be apparent for another two years (well after you are done with your current project).  In this situation, what should you do?

  a.  Do nothing because that project is complete.
  b.  Notify your management both orally and in writing.
  c.  Notify the customer directly.
  d.  Take steps to ensure this type of problem does not occur with your project.



2. You have been assigned to a new project and have finished the scope statement. You and your team are now going to create a Work Breakdown Structure. You are spending a lot of time discussing how to create a completely decomposed Work Breakdown Structure. Which of the following is not relevant to this discussion?
 
  a.  Status/completion is measurable.
  b.  Time/cost is easily estimated.
  c.  Start/end events are clearly defined.
  d.  Resource availability can be reliably foreseen.




3. A risk management plan should be tailored for each project in what way?

  a.  Some companies use predefined templates for risk management plans.
  b.  Certain companies have predefined roles and responsibilities as they relate to risk management.
  c.  The risk management plan should ensure that the level and type of risk management efforts are appropriate to the level of risk and importance of the project to the company.
  d.  Some organizations have predefined risk management policies that must be tailored to an individual project.




4.  You are in a meeting with 4 of your subordinates.  How many communication channels are there?

  a.  4
  b.  8
  c.  10
  d.  16




5.  A seller is working on a cost reimbursable contract when the buyer decides he would like to expand the scope of the services and change to a fixed price contract.  The seller’s options include:

  a.  Completing the original work on a cost reimbursable basis and then negotiating a fixed price for additional work
  b.  Completing the original work and rejecting additional work
  c.  Negotiating a fixed price contract that includes all the work
  d.  All of the above



6.  In examining the progress of our project, you determine that actual cost of the work performed so far is 67k.  The Budgeted Cost of this work was 55k.  What is your CPI?

  a.  0.82
  b.  0
  c.  1
  d.  1.21




7.  You have asked two different individuals for an estimated duration of a task. Your manager stated it should take 8 days.  The new developer says it will take 18 days.  But based upon your experience of having seen this many times in the past, you feel it will most likely take 11 days.  You decide to employ the three point estimating technique.  What is the output of this estimate?

  a.  10.25
  b.  11.67
  c.  12.33
  d.  16.67




8.  When preparing to implement quality control on your project, all of the following should be considered except what?

  a.  Inspection over prevention
  b.  Customer satisfaction
  c.  Management responsibility
  d.  Continuous improvement




9.  You work in a matrix environment.  You are discouraged by the fact that many members of your project team are not aware of the progress of the project until this is discussed in your status meeting.  Which team development approach would best resolve this situation?

  a.  Training
  b.  Recognition and rewards
  c.  Co-Location
  d.  A team building event




10.  During the execution of a project, the project manager determines that a change is needed to material purchased for the project.  The project manager has to pull the team together for a meeting to discuss how to handle this change.  This is an example of:

  a.  Management by Objectives
  b.  Lack of a change control system
  c.  Progressive elaboration
  d.  Lack of a clear work breakdown structure

 


For thousands of other free PMP exam prep questions, visit this link.

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Answers

  1. b – Professional Responsibility
  2. d – Scope Management
  3. c – Risk Management
  4. c – Communication Management  n(n-1)/2 or 5(5-1)2 or 20/2
  5. d – Procurement Management
  6. a – Cost Management CPI = EV/AC or CPI = 55/67
  7. b – Time Management
  8. a – Quality Management
  9. c – Human Resource Management
  10. b – Integration Management

Posted by webadmin on Saturday, September 15 @ 09:52:41 CDT (19913 reads)
 (Read More... | Score: 3.97)

PMP: Earning PDU's the Economical Way
PMConnection Articles
5 Tasks + 3 Years = 60 PDU’s


So you passed the PMP exam and have been applying all those fundamental principles on your projects. Perhaps you’ve gotten a new job, promotion or even received an increase in salary as a result of the additional knowledge. In a nutshell, you realize the PMP is of value and you would like to remain PMP certified.


You know that in order to maintain your PMP certification you must acquire 60 PDU’s over the course of 3 years. You’ve ventured to PMI’s CCR site and perhaps even logged a few PDU’s. But you realize that you are still far from having 60. How will you ever get there?

Well, if money is not an object, then acquiring 60 PDU’s is easy. All you have to do is find a find a few project management related seminars or training classes, pay your money and attend. 60 PDU’s will come quickly.


But if you are searching for a more economical approach to acquiring your PDU’s, all you have to do is follow the 5 following steps. This approach will not be easy, as it may require considerable time and effort. But the there are two major benefits. One is that there will be very little direct costs to you. The second benefit is this economical approach will place you in great networking situations. You will have the opportunity to interact with others in the project management field. These contacts can help you resolve your difficult project issues or provide you an inside track to those un-advertised open project management positions.


Step 1 – Do Your Job
That’s right, simply performing your job as a project manager for 1500 hours per year is worth 5 PDU’s. 5 PDU’s per year for 3 years is 15 PDU’s. Do the math. Already, you are 25% there!! These PDU’s should be logged into sub-category 2H.


Step 2 – Do A Little Research
Sub-category 2SDL grants us 1 PDU for each hour of “Self Directed Learning”. There is a limit of 15 PDU’s, but why not claim them all. Pick a topic that you would like to learn about and begin your research project. For example, perhaps you would like to know more about Program Management, Portfolio Management, or Using MS Project to help you better manage your projects. The Research Center at PMConnection provides a great online source for your research.


There is no formal tracking form that PMI requires one to fill out, but it is advised to keep a personal record of all books or articles read. It might even be a good idea to produce powerpoint presentation summarizing your research or perhaps a nice article. Your tracking form and summary report may prove beneficial if PMI would ever audit your PDU records. Producing an article can actually help you with step 3.


Step 3 – Get Published
So if you elected to produce an article from your 15 hours of research, most of your work is complete. All you have to do now is get it published. Try submitting your article to MPA for publication in “The Project Network” or PMI for publication in “PM Network”. If they elect to publish your article, you have just earned another 15 PDU’s!! These get recorded into sub-category 2B, which is getting published in a non-refereed journal.


Step 4 – Become a Committee Member
Find your local PMI Chapter and volunteer a little time. Being a committee member of a project management organization for a year is worth 5 PDU’s. If your closest chapter is too far for a convenient commute, you might want to check out this page of PMI’s website as they are always performing some type of research and rely upon volunteer committee members. These PDU’s get logged into sub-category 5B.


Step 5 – Become an Officer
One notch above a committee member is becoming an officer of a project management organization. Again, your local PMI or MPA chapter provide this opportunity. Being an officer for one year is worth 10 PDU’s. These get logged into sub-category 5A.

If you’ve been keeping a running total, you’ll realize we have now accumulated 60 PDU’s. Below is a nice little scorecard that summarizes our 5 steps.




Summary
Remember that these 5 steps are merely suggestions for earning PDU's economically. Visit PMI’s CCR site for a comprehensive list of categories for earning PDU’s. Here are a few more suggestions:

  • Regardless of how you plan to earn PDU’s, get started now! The longer you wait, the greater pressure you put on yourself and the more likely you are to have to attend an expensive event to meet your PDU requirements.
  • Log your PDU’s on PMI’s site as you acquire them
  • Keep a hard copy of all records in case of a PMI audit

Posted by webadmin on Saturday, January 20 @ 05:07:34 CST (10837 reads)
 (Read More... | Score: 4.25)

PMP: PMP Exam Day Tips
PMConnection Articles
PMP EXAM DAY TIPS


You've devoted at least 4,500 hours to project work, you have set through at least 35 hours worth of classroom training on Project Management, you have studied for hours and answered hundreds of practice questions, you have completed PMI's application for the PMP exam, you have paid roughly $500,  you received your acceptance letter, you have even scheduled your exam date.  In short, you have a lot invested into this exam.  Are you nervous?

Well here are some tips that should help calm your nerves:

EXAM DAY TIPS
-Drive to testing location prior to test day
-Arrive early on test day
-Bring 2 forms of ID and your letter from PMI
-You will be assigned a small locker
-They will give you 6 sheets of paper, 2 pencils and a small calculator
-They will escort you to your seat
-You will walk through instructions for taking exam
-You have 10 minutes to complete the instructions
-You have 60 seconds to start the online test after completing instructions
-Once you begin test, you have 4 hours.  Clock does not stop if you take break.
-Before answering any questions perform Braindump
-Have a gameplan.  Example:
    75 Questions – Break
    75 Questions – Break
    50 Questions and Review – Complete
-Each time you take a break, you must sign out and back in with attendant.  Must also show ID
-Water fountain available, but take snack
-Can not wear a hat into center
-Can not reach into pocket
-No talking
-People will come and go, but don’t let this shake you.
-Read entire question fully – Usually more info than needed
-Read answers from the bottom up
-If you are not sure of answer, do not guess on the first pass.  Simply mark the question for review.
-Do not struggle too long on one question.  Mark it for review and come back.
-If you find questions further in the exam that will help you answer the questions that you marked for review, jot that question number down with a brief reference.
-Once you get to the end, you can then review the questions you previously marked. Many of these answers will now come quickly.
-After completing the questions marked for review, you can now click on “Complete Exam”
-It will prompt you “Are you sure”
-Once you choose yes or ok, the hourglass will appear on the screen as it calculates you results.  This takes about 15-20 seconds.
-Once complete the words “You Passed” appear on the screen (hopefully!).
-Test results are then printed with attendant
-Turn in your pencils, paper and calculator
-Attendant will give you a certified copy of your test results
-You will receive certification via mail

Good Luck!
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Posted by webadmin on Saturday, October 21 @ 02:54:45 CDT (3188 reads)
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PMP: Maintaining Your PMP® Certification
PMConnection Articles
Earning PDU’s

You studied for hours and stressed over the 4 hour 200 question exam.  But you passed!  You are now a certified Project Management Professional, CONGRATULATIONS!!  You have proven you have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of project management.  So the question now is; how do you maintain your PMP® certification?
 
This white paper will answer that question as it provides an overview of PMI’s® Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR), explains how to pursue Professional Development Units (PDU’s), and provides guidance for logging this information with PMI®.
 
PMI’s® Criteria
To remain PMP® certified you must follow PMI’® Continuing Certification Requirements (CCR).  Put simply, you must earn 60 PDU’s over a three year time span, beginning January 1st the year after you take the exam (for instance, if you passed the exam on 9/13/05, you must earn 60 PDU's between 1/1/06 and 12/31/08).   PDU's stand for "Professional Development Units".  Typically, one PDU is earned for every one hour spent in a planned, structured learning experience or activity. 
 
 
Earning PDU’s
You can earn PDU’s in 5 different categories and a couple of these have sub-categories.  These are explained in the following paragraphs, and organized in a neat table at the end.
 
Category 1 - Formal Academic Education
This would include any courses offered for degree credit and is related to project management. One (1) hour of degree credit in a typical fifteen-week semester earns 15 PDUs.
 
Category 2 – Professional Activities and Self Directed Learning
This category is so large that it is broken down into sub-categories.
2A       Published in a refereed journal – an example would be getting published in the Project Management Journal. This is worth 30 PDU’s per article.
2B        Published in a non-refereed journal – an example would be getting published somewhere like Gantthead, or Tech Republic.  This is worth 15 PDU’s per article.
2C       Speaker at conference, workshop, or course.  This is worth 10 PDU’s per event.
2D       Speaker at PMI component meeting – Being a speaker at a PMI Chapter meeting would be an example.  Worth 5 PDU’s per event.
2E        Member of panel discussion at conference, workshop or course.  Worth 5 PDU’s per event.
2F        Author of textbook.  Worth 40 PDU’s (co-author carries half credit)
2G       Developer of content for seminar or structured learning program.  Worth 10 PDU’s.
2H       Practitioner of PM for 1,500 hours.  If you are a project manager for at least 1500 hours in a year, you can earn 5 PDU's per year.  This means that most PMP's can earn 15 PDU's over the 3 year cycle just for doing their job (This is 25% of the total hours needed).  Note 15 PDU’s is the maximum that can be earned in this subcategory over each cycle. 
2SDL   Self Directed Learning - Includes discussions, books, articles, etc.  This is worth 1 PDU per hour invested, but is limited to a maximum of 15 PDU’s.
 
Category 3 - PMI® Registered Education Providers
PDU’s can be earned in this category by attending PMI® R.E.P. events.  R.E.P. stands for Registered Education Provider.  Many organizations are REP’s and offer a wide variety of courses or seminars that qualify for PDU’s.  A few examples are MPA, ESI, IIL.  To review “the most comprehensive list of Project Management and Microsoft Project related events anywhere” visit PMConnections Event Calendar.  These events typically qualify for 1 PDU per hour.
 
Category 4 – Other Providers
PDU’s can also be earned by attending project management related courses offered by organizations that are not Registered Education Providers.  To review “the most comprehensive list of Project Management and Microsoft Project related events anywhere” visit PMConnections Event Calendar. These also earn 1 PDU per hour.  Be certain to obtain and archive your registration form, certificate or letter of attendance, and a brochure or course materials outlining the subject matter covered and the qualifications of the instructor/lecturer.  These documents will work as proof for PMI® should you ever be audited.
 
Category 5 - Service to Professional or Community Organizations
A maximum of 20 PDUs may be earned by volunteering your time to Professional or Community organizations. There are 3 subcategories here:
5A       Serve as an officer for a project management organization – Examples would include PMI or MPA.  This is worth 10 PDU’s per 1 year term.
5B        Serve as a committee member for a project organization - Examples would include PMI or MPA.  This is worth 5 PDU’s per 1 year term.
5C       Provide PM services to a community or charitable group – Perhaps your favorite church or community organization relies upon you to plan and organize their events.  This would qualify for 5 PDU’s per year.

Recording PDU’s Earned
It is possible to complete and log PDU’s with PMI® using a form and hard copied information.  But the best way to log PDU’s is online.  The Online Reporting Form requires you to log in and record details.  The benefit to this is that it is quick, simple and pretty straight-forward.  It is recommended to log PDU’s as soon as they are earned.  This way you won’t forget all the details!
 
By recording your PDU’s online as you earn them there is another benefit.  It is the Transcript View.  This view is similar to a report card in that it summarizes all the activities you have registered and provides totals for each category as well as an overall PDU total.  Once you hit 60 qualifying PDU’s PMI® will send you information about renewing your PMP®. (for a small fee of course!!)
 
One final recommendation is to create a file to keep hard copies of all your PDU records.  This is for two reasons.  One is just in case there is ever a discrepancy with your online transcript.  The second reason is that PMI® occasionally audits claim forms.
 
Summary
Hopefully this article clarifies what is required to maintain your PMP® certification.  Be certain to visit PMI’s® CCR website regularly for any changes or updates to the program.

See Related Article:  Earning PDU's the Economical Way


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Posted by webadmin on Sunday, July 16 @ 03:18:54 CDT (6015 reads)
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